Hua Lan gave birth to Zhou Chen's eldest son safely, which filled the entire Zhongjing Hou Mansion with joy.
This era attaches great importance to inheritance. Zhou Chen is now confirmed to be the Marquis of Zhongjing. Now that he has a legitimate son, it means that the Marquis of Zhongjing has a queen, which makes the entire Marquis of Zhongjing feel more at ease.
Zhou Yexiong was already terminally ill and did not have much time to live, but the birth of this child seemed to arouse his desire to survive. It was like a flashback, and his spirit actually improved a lot.
Zhou Yexiong directly took away the naming rights of the child and named him Zhou Ji. The meaning is very obvious.
Even though he is in poor health, he comes to visit his grandson every day, and every time he is full of smiles. Anyway, Zhou Chen has never seen him smile so brightly and happily. It is conceivable that this grandson is in Zhou Dynasty.
How important is career ambition.
Because Zhou Tong had just passed away a few months ago, there was no big fanfare when it came to Zhou Ji's birth and full moon. The family celebrated it themselves.
Hua Lan also officially gave birth after one and a half months. Because Zhou Chen took good care of her and her family paid attention to her, her confinement was done very well and her body recovered quickly.
After confinement, Hua Lan proposed to go back to her parents' home. Zhou Chen naturally would not object and took advantage of the day off to take Hualan back to Sheng Mansion.
As soon as they returned, they were immediately warmly welcomed. The old lady and Wang Ruofu happily surrounded the baby.
The old lady and Wang Ruofu are both happy for Hua Lan. With this child, Hua Lan's position in the Hou Mansion will be more stable. Who in Tokyo doesn't know that Zhou Chen will be the future Zhongjing Hou, and their Sheng Mansion
The eldest girl is the future Marquis's wife.
Recently, many officials' ladies have sent greeting cards to the Sheng Mansion, either because they want to visit, or to invite Madam Wang to the mansion, or to go to places like Sanqing Temple to pray together.
After arriving in Tokyo, Wang Ruofu felt a sense of status for the first time. She knew that this was not brought by her own officials, but by her daughter and son-in-law.
Son-in-law of the Marquis, she had never dared to think about it before.
"This kid is so good-looking. Looking at his little appearance, he looks exactly like Saburo."
The old lady hugged little Zhou Ji, with an extremely bright smile on her face. Although the Sheng family had no blood relationship with her, this child was not only the grandson of the Sheng family, but also the blood of her nephew and grandnephew, even if he was separated from her.
Even though we are far apart, we are still blood relatives, right?
Hua Lan said with a smile: "My mother said the same thing. She said this child is exactly the same as Guanren when he was a child. He was obviously born to me, so why doesn't anyone say he looks like me?"
Her words of pretending to be jealous immediately made everyone laugh.
"Grandma, why haven't you seen Minglan? And Rulan isn't here either. Usually when I come back, she comes to me as soon as possible to ask for delicious food."
Wang Ruofu said: "Your father, through his connections, hired the famous Zhuang Xuexue to teach in our mansion. Originally, he was only planning to teach Chang Bai. But then your father thought about it.
He wanted to teach, so he asked all the children at home to take Zhuang Xuexue’s class.”
Hua Lan was very surprised: "Really? Is this Zhuang scholar very famous? My father actually asked Rulan Minglan and others to go to class?"
She still knew her father very well, and he was a very face-saving person. It would probably not be easy to invite Zhuang Xuexue, let alone ask Zhuang Xuexue to teach a girl. This was not something her father would do.
Wang Ruofu snorted lightly and did not explain, but Hua Lan soon understood that the only one who could make her mother have such an attitude was Miss Lin in the mansion. It seemed that Miss Lin must have contributed.
The old lady took the initiative to cover for her daughter-in-law: "I think girls should also be educated, so I asked your father to go to Zhuang Xuexue to intercede, and Zhuang Xuexue agreed."
Zhou Chen said with deep approval: "Grandma is right, a woman's lack of talent is a virtue. It does not mean that a woman does not need talent, but that a woman must be humble and submissive. Therefore, if possible, women should be trained to study."
"Sanlang is right." Grandma agreed very much.
After chatting for a while, the old lady took the initiative and asked: "Sanlang, is your father's health okay now?"
Zhou Chen sighed: "It's hard to say, it's good and bad sometimes, but he has looked away from it. Now he just visits his grandson and walks with his mother every day without asking anything."
The old lady said: "That's right. When people get old, they should enjoy peace and happiness. It's not easy for your father, either. You and Hua'er must be filial to him."
"Grandma, don't worry, we know."
While they were chatting, they saw Minglan returning to Shou'an Hall with her maid Xiaotao.
"Grandma, mother, eldest sister, eldest brother-in-law."
Minglan is already eleven this year, which is not too young in this era. She has learned a lot from her grandmother and has become much more restrained.
Grandma waved to Minglan happily: "Come over tomorrow and see your little nephew."
Minglan walked over and looked at the swaddled baby. It was such a small baby and she was very surprised.
"so cute."
Zhou Chen and Hualan had dinner at Sheng Mansion before going back. During the dinner, they heard Sheng Hong say that he should be promoted after the new year, and he would probably be able to wear a scarlet robe by then.
Zhou Chen was not surprised by this. Sheng Hong had been in Tokyo for three years. As far as he knew, although Sheng Hong had not made any great achievements, he did a good job and had a good relationship with his colleagues. He was promoted.
Promotion is also a matter of course.
After all, Zhou Yexiong didn't last long. One night when Zhou Ji was more than three months old, he finally couldn't bear it anymore.
Before dying, he used his last strength to hold Zhou Chen tightly.
"The Marquis Mansion and the family will be left to you. I will definitely..."
When he saw Zhou Chen nodding, he took his last breath and passed away.
This Marquis Zhongjing, who had been strong all his life and lived for his family's palace, finally passed away at the age of fifty-three.
Zhou Yexiong's death left Zhou Chen unable to calm down for a long time. He didn't have much affection for his father, but he had to admit that no matter how cruel his methods were, he was indeed fighting with a goal. He had been fighting for his family all his life, even if
In the last breath of his life, he was still thinking about his family.
poor person must have something mean.
No, maybe he felt pitiful because he thought that Zhou Yexiong never thought so from the beginning to the end. Zhou Yexiong was willing to dedicate everything he had to his family, even his emotions and humanity.
…………
After the death of Zhou Yexiong, the Marquis of Zhongjing, the battles were much greater than when Zhou Tong died.
In just two years, the Marquis Zhongjing's Mansion has undergone earth-shaking changes. Within a year, both the eldest son and the Marquis passed away, only ten months apart.
During the funeral, most of the dignitaries in Tokyo came to pay their respects, and the atmosphere was grand. Even the current officials issued decrees to give Zhou Yexiong face.
Once Zhou Yexiong leaves, Zhou Chen will become the new Zhongjing Marquis of Zhongjing Marquis Mansion, and the Marquis Mansion will also usher in a new era.
After Zhou Yexiong left, Mrs. Zhou Xu went out less often. She stayed in her yard every day to eat and read scriptures. Her sister-in-law Ms. Cui rarely showed up, but Hualan often called Mrs. Fu over to teach her how to read.
He can read and read account books, play with his younger brother, and is very kind to Sister Fu. Sister Fu also likes and respects Hua Lan very much.
The Ding You system in the Song Dynasty was the most complete, and even people with status like Zhou Chen had to abide by it. Therefore, after Zhou Yexiong's death, Zhou Chen began to observe filial piety and temporarily left his position as Marquis of Yu, the capital of the horse army, and other
Work part-time and stay at home to serve his father.
Just after the funeral, the imperial edict from the palace came down. Zhou Chen officially ascended the throne and became the new Zhongjing Marquis. Sheng Hualan was also promoted and became a third-grade imperial concubine.
The Marquis of Zhongjing, as one of the best noble families in Tokyo, has a new Marquis of Zhongjing. Everyone is waiting to see how this new Marquis of Zhongjing compares to the old Marquis.
But considering Zhou Chen's previous achievements and the fact that he is highly regarded by officials, many people feel that Zhou Chen may be better than his predecessors.
Therefore, even if the old Marquis Zhou Yexiong died, no one would dare to underestimate the Marquis Zhongjing Mansion.
In ancient times, the period of observing filial piety was three years, but in fact it was not really three years, but twenty months. Some ordinary people did not even use it for one year. On the contrary, scholars paid special attention to this kind of filial piety.
And like some important ministers of the court, they say they need to observe filial piety for three years, but if the government allows it, it doesn't really need to be that long. One year less is enough.
Zhou Chen was not prepared to take advantage of others and began to observe filial piety honestly. He could inherit the title because he benefited from the Zhou family. Naturally, he had to honor this sentiment and observe filial piety to Zhou Yexiong.
More than half a year later, Zhou Ji also turned one year old. Naturally, there was no way to hold a wedding banquet due to special circumstances, so the family got together and celebrated Zhou Ji's first birthday banquet.
During the mourning period, no one in the Hou family was allowed to wear red or green, and all wore plain clothes.
Chaoyun Pavilion!
In recent times, the layout of the Hou Mansion has changed a lot, and Zhou Chen and Hua Lan's courtyard has also expanded a lot. They named the new courtyard Chaoyun Pavilion.
It was already evening when Zhou Chen returned to Chaoyun Pavilion from the ancestral hall. He saw Hua Lan settling accounts in the house and asked curiously.
"Where's stepbrother?"
Hua Lan raised her head and replied: "At mother's place, this child insists on pestering mother and sleeping at mother's place. I have no choice but to let him."
Zhou Chen said with a smile: "This boy is smart and knows that his mother loves him the most and spoils him the most. Let him go. Mother is alone, so it's good for him to accompany her."
Although Zhou Xu eats fasting and chants sutras, and has an indifferent temperament, she is really kind to her grandchildren, especially Zhou Ji, the eldest grandson. He holds them in his hands for fear of falling, and holds them in his mouth for fear of melting.
He is more than a year old, but he is already very discerning, so he likes to stay by his grandmother's side.
Hua Lan complained in disgust: "This little monkey is so heartless. If you see your mother, you won't want me as your mother."
Zhou Chen smiled and put his arms around Hua Lan's shoulders, and said softly: "Isn't it nice that he's not here? I can stay with you wholeheartedly."
After saying that, he kissed Hua Lan on the face, which made Hua Lan roll his eyes.
To be continued...